In 1992, the Georgia Dome was completed at a cost of $214 million (US), which came from the Georgia General Assembly, making it one of the largest state-funded construction projects in state history. It seats 74,228 for football, and can hold approximately: 80,000 for concerts, 71,000 for basketball when the dome is fully open and 40,000 for basketball and gymnastics when the dome is sectioned off (one half closed off by a large curtain). For most Georgia State football games, the dome is configured with 28,155 seats, with tickets for only the bulk of the lower level and the club-level seats on sale.[1][6] The record for overall attendance at the Georgia Dome is 80,892 for the 2008 SEC Championship Game in football.[citation needed][7]

The structure is located on 9.19 acres (3.72 ha) of land; the dome has a height of 270.67 feet (82.50 m), a structure length of 745.75 feet (227.30 m), a structure width of 606.96 feet (185.00 m), and a total floor area of 102,149.51 square feet (9,490.000 m2). The dome is the largest cable-supported dome in the world. Its roof is made of teflon-coated fiberglass fabric and has an area of 374,584.08 square feet (34,800.000 m2). From its completion until the December 31, 1999 opening of the 20-acre (8.1 ha) Millennium Dome in London, it was the largest hooked domed structure of any type in the world.

In 2006, the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority announced a $300 million renovation to the Georgia Dome. The project was separated into two stages. The first stage, which took place before the 2007 NFL season, focused on updating the premium seating areas, including the creation of eight 'super-suites' as well as an owners' club.[9] In 2008, the exterior of the stadium was repainted, replacing the original teal and maroon color scheme with a red, black and silver theme to match the Falcons' team colors; the stadium's original teal seats were replaced with red seats in the 100 and 300 levels and black seats in the Verizon Wireless Club Level (200 Level). The entrance gates and concourses were also renovated and updated before the 2008 football season.[10][11] In 2009, the video screens in both endzones were relocated to a new exterior monument sign on Northside Drive. The interior endzones each received a new and considerably wider High Definition video screen that significantly enhances views of replays, as well as graphics and digital presentations. A new sound system was installed in the same year, replacing the previous system that was nearly 20 years old.

Three years after the completion of the Dome, the integrity of its roof became an issue. During a Falcons pre-season game in August 1995, a severe rainstorm caused water to pool on the fabric, tearing part of the material and causing a section of the roof to fall into the stadium. The storm was intense enough that the roof panels could be seen moving during the game, and the water and roof material later fell with enough force to smash seats in the upper decks and knock holes in concrete floors. The collapse occurred after fans left the stadium, and no one was injured during the incident. The roof was eventually repaired in a way that prevented similar incidents from occurring in the future.[12][13]

It was announced in 2010 that the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, the stadium's operator, is pursuing a new stadium with a retractable roof, just south of the Georgia Dome. Upon completion of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017, the Georgia Dome will be demolished to make way for parking for the new stadium; the GWCCA also plans to build a new 800-room hotel on a portion of the Georgia Dome site.[15] The Falcons' final regular season game in the Georgia Dome is scheduled for January 1, 2017 against the New Orleans Saints, while the stadium's final scheduled publicly ticketed event will be a Supercross event on February 25, 2017. Despite construction delays moving Mercedes-Benz Stadium's opening to June 2017, the GWCCA plans to decommission the Georgia Dome for events by March 1, 2017 in order to have demolition complete before 2018.[16]

It was also one of two homes, along with the facility then known as Alexander Memorial Coliseum, for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks during the construction of Philips Arena from 1997 to 1999.[19] While playing at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998, the Atlanta Hawks set a then-NBA single-game attendance record with 62,046 fans.

The dome has held a number of international soccer matches. On June 24, 2009, the dome hosted its first ever soccer match between Mexico and Venezuela in front of 51,115 fans, with grass laid over the FieldTurf.[22] On February 9, 2011, Mexico and Bosnia and Herzegovina played a friendly match in front of 50,507 fans.[23][24] On July 20, 2013, the Dome hosted two quarter-final match-ups of the 2013 Gold Cup—Panama vs. Cuba and Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago—in front of 54,229 fans.[25] In March 2014, the Dome hosted a 0-0 draw between Mexico and Nigeria in front of 68,212 fans, the largest ever crowd for a soccer match in Atlanta.[26]

During the Monday Night War in the late 1990s both WWE Raw and WCW Nitro were held in the Georgia Dome with the July 6th 1998 episode of Nitro being one of the most watched and attended professional wrestling broadcasts. Over 40,000 attended the show.

Attendance record 71,617 fans at WrestleMania XXVII at the Georgia Dome.

In September 2009, it was reported that the city of Atlanta was seeking to host WrestleMania XXVII at the Georgia Dome.[32] A press conference was held on February 1, 2010 at the Georgia Dome to formally announce the event for Atlanta.[33] According to WWE's senior vice president of special events, John Saboor, Atlanta was ultimately chosen for, among other reasons, "their track record of success with large events, rich in its tradition with the WWE, great infrastructure."[34] The event marked the first time WrestleMania has been held in the state of Georgia.[33]